Maple Restaurant

I’m not a morning person but I love breakfast food, particularly pancakes and waffles. I’ve been hearing about this place that serves all-day breakfast so when my friend Dave suggested we go there for dinner, I readily agreed. Waffles for dinner? Yes please. After a bit of research it turns out that Maple is owned by the same restauranteurs behind Pancake House. As one of my friends described it, it’s a Sosy Pancake House.

This is the interior, it’s not very big. So call ahead to make reservations – 621-6211, especially if you’re going in a large group. The interior’s kinda cozy though and I like how it’s decorated. It just needs more space.

The menu’s quite extensive, they have a great variety of items which aren’t just breakfast food — burgers, steaks, pasta, sandwiches. I’d peg their menu at American with a hint of Filipino. I didn’t get to take a photo of each page because we were busy catching up.

Starters: Mussels – Fresh, tasty and generously portioned. The broth was too salty for my taste so I dipped my garlic bread in it to neutralize the saltiness.

Maple Salad – There was nothing special about this. They say it’s their best seller however, it is simply a tall stack of greens, drizzled with grated parmesan and garnished with a few slices of egg, olives and a pinch of walnuts. I had hoped the maple dressing would give it much needed flavor but.. it didn’t.

Fish Tacos – Dave loved this. They gave you a heaping portion and he seemed to really enjoy it. Best fish tacos he’s had in Manila, he said.

Chicken Burger  with Fries – My friend Jason had this. He said it was okay. The fries are okay too.

My Waffle, was in fact, excellent. It wasn’t crunchy (some waffles are made this way, ew) and it wasn’t too soft either. It was the perfect consistency. I really felt I was eating a waffle and not a pancake in the shape of a waffle. Sorry, I’m really OCD about waffles and pancakes. I’m weird like that. The bacon I ordered however, was of course, maple bacon. Unfortunately, it was overly sweet. I would call it candied bacon. I wanted a saltiness to contrast my waffle however I didn’t get that from the bacon. I wish it was just traditional bacon or that the maple was more subtle. What a shame since it was cooked perfectly and was crunchy in the right way.

We considered having dessert but we passed. My friend Dave pointed out to them that unlike the rest of the menu, nothing in the dessert section had maple in it. Or at least it didn’t indicate it on the menu. Ironic.

Please note however that it is not cheap, we paid around Php1,500++ for our meal.

So the verdict on Maple is that it is worth a second visit. it’s a nice, quaint place to catch up with friends and dine on comfort food. The portions are generous and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. The service is great and they make you feel at home. For people like me who love American Breakfasts, this is a place to try.

MAPLE

2nd Floor San Antonio Plaza,
Mckinley Road
6216211